Are you concerned about any particular ingredients?

Wednesday, July 4th, 2012

Are you concerned about any particular ingredients? Why?

For the past several years, I try to limit the amount of silicone-based ingredients are in my products (e.g. not every single face product), but otherwise, I can’t think of any specific ingredient I avoid or am concerned about.

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Silicone.
It gives me clogged pores and pretty bad cystic acne.
I’ve had plenty of people jump on me and tell me the reason for my bad skin was my diet, my lifestyle, my make-up removing technique, etc… even though they know nothing about me. I eat fresh products, I avoid fatty foods, I don’t eat refined sugar, I drink plenty of water, I exercice regularly, I don’t smoke, I can go weeks without wearing make-up and I clean my face every single day. You get the picture.
I removed silicone from my skincare regimen after I read it could cause problems for some people, and quickly the problems started to fade. But I’ve had all the trouble in the world finding a good oil-free silicone-free moisturizer.

Alcohol as well.
It exacerbates my sensitive skin and makes it redder. Also it dehydrates it.

Hi Marie! Silicone is the worst thing for my face too. I had a ton of clogged pores all over my fore head and along my smile lines and chin and it was due to silicone in makeup and skincare. I now use OCC tint which is a silicone free tinted moisturizer and all of those nasty suckers are gone! yayy! The problem is that I can’t use moisturizer on my face because if it doesn’t have silicone it most likely has glycerin and that causes clogged pores for me too. I don’t know if you are sensitive to glycerin like I am but face reality’s hydrating emulsion is silicone free.

I’m glad I found someone who has similar skin to me though! Everyone at my job (makeup industry) thinks I make up the word sensitive when I talk about my skin but little do they know.

Parabens. I’m not so much “concerned” about them, but I find my skin is so much better since I began limiting them. Although it’s nearly impossible to cut them out 100%, I’ve been able to cut them out of my skincare routine, although the sunscreen I’ve been using does contain one (although I don’t use that one every day). I also use mineral foundation as my “everyday” foundation, but occasionally I’ll use a liquid foundation, over a paraben-free primer.

I try to avoid silicone, too! But I don’t really care if there’s silicone in face products, I only care about avoiding it in hair products, I try to use only organic/natural products for my hair.
The ingredient I try to avoid the most is paraffin (liquid paraffin/mineral oil)

There’s no particular ingredient I avoid. However, before I buy any makeup, I ask my dad, who is a chemist, to look at the ingredients list and let me know if any of the ingredients is potentially bad or harmful in any way. For the most part, the products are fine. As he says, they would not be allowed to be sold if they did not pass safety standards.

That is how I found out that the coastal scents eyeshadows are not actually all “bad and filled with horrible harmful chemicals” as a lot of people on makeupalley were complaining. In fact, when I asked him to compare the ingredients list of the coastal scents eyeshadow to the MAC technikhol, which was used on the actual waterline of your eye, he said there were more “odd” or harmful ingredients in the MAC teknikhol

However, even if there was a potentially harmful or odd ingredient in a cosmetic (this includes the MAC teknikhol), he said that it would be in such a small amount that it wouldn’t do anything to you. He said as long as you’re careful to wash off the makeup everyday, then it is fine.
Seeing as how he works with chemicals all day, and knows them like the back of his hand, I think he’s a pretty good source.

I only use sulfate free shampoo now and I’m cautious of where on the ingredient list alcohol is listed–if it’s one of the first few ingredients, I’ll probably avoid that prodcut as well. As far as other ingredients go, I don’t go out of my way to avoid them, but if I’m debating between foundations/concelaers/blushes/etc, and one of them is paraben free, sulfate free, and silicone free, I’ll choose that one. I like to reach for makeup products that are more natural, but if I love a product and it’s not natural, I’ll still use it.

I always look for Titanium dioxide in product, for flash photography….Tell me if I’m wrong cuz it’s kind new for me, when an ingredient is mentioned in the very beginning it means that the proportion are higher than if it was at the end of the ingredient’s list right?? Does it make sense??

I try to avoid mineral oil on my face, especially in products that are going to stay there. I’ve never had a problem with silicone products and actually find they’ve been a bit of a godsend in things like primers – they leave a flawless finish that I like. A lot of people (not you, Christine, but in a lot of product reviews) talk about silicone as though it were worse than radioactive materials. I’m sure it can be a problem for some people, but that would apply to just about anything you can think of, whether it’s “natural” or “chemical”.

I try to totally avoid all shampoo products with sulfates, as sulfates strip the hair follicle, damage the quality of the hair, increase frizziness and dryiness, and (if you dye your hair) reduce/fade the hair colour. More importantly, I try to avoid products with parabens, particularly in skin care. I’ve read a lot of mixed things about parabens and how they are in such minute amounts in most products that it doesn’t really hurt one. However, many people say that if you have parabens in a range of products that you use frequently, if not daily, then the amounts can add up. Since skin care — like eye cream, moisturiser, cleansers, etc. — are obviously products used at least once a day, if not more, I tend to buy products (like Ole Henriksen) that are parabn-free. Sure, they don’t know *for certain* if parabens are linked to breast cancer or other cancers, but if I can buy products without them, then why not? Better safe, than sorry, imo.

I try to totally avoid all shampoo products with sulfates, as sulfates strip the hair follicle, damage the quality of the hair, increase frizziness and dryiness, and (if you dye your hair) reduce/fade the hair colour.
More importantly, I try to avoid products with parabens, particularly in skin care. I’ve read a lot of mixed reports about parabens and how they are in such minute amounts in most products that occasional use doesn’t really hurt one. On the other hand, many people say that if you have parabens in a range of products that you use frequently, if not daily, then the amounts can add up. Parabens seem to be in so many beauty products (even toothpaste I’ve read) that they seem hard to rule out completely, but one area I *can* control is skin care. Since products like eye cream, moisturiser, cleansers, serums etc. are obviously things used at least once a day, if not more, I tend to buy products (like Ole Henriksen) that are paraben-free. Sure, they don’t know *for certain* if parabens are linked to breast cancer or other cancers, but if I can buy products without them, then why not? Better safe, than sorry, imo.

The only thing I’m concerned about is cucumber because it breaks out my skin really bad into eczema. People shouldn’t be afraid of silicone, it’s just a filler, but at the same time a lot of people are allergic to it. Another thing is parabens, dont be afraid, the amount that’s in a product isn’t going to hurt you in anyway, I would be more concerned about the arsenic content in a lot of people’s water supplies, but hey that’s just me.

parabens ( the 3 ). Many beauty products do not contain parabens anymore but they do contain some other noxious ingredients. Only Bio products are considered as safe, some contain up to 98 % natural ingredients, even Nivea has some natural products it’s called ” pure and natural ” ( not Bio at all, just no parabens or other toxic ingredients ).

i like my silicones especially in hair care and skin primers, im a make up artist and i find silicone primers work much better and give a better finish. I do avoid parabens, mineral oils and lanolin. Lanolin is the grease off sheep’s wool and can cause abnormal hair growth on the skin, ew!

Parabens, mineral oil, mica, talc & bht. Christine, there’s a site called cosdna.com where you can search a product a see how safe is each obe of the ingredients. It would be great if you feature it in your blog, so everyone knows. The cosmetic base is no that big, but you can reach for ingredients individually.

@BooBooNinja @Ice Neutrogena make a couple of good ones that contain titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. These physical sunscreens are effective and gentle. They make a liquid and a lotion. I haven’t tried the liquid, yet. The lotion is nice, sinks in well and works under makeup. I am fair so I don’t know how it would work with deeper skin tones.

I cannot say I specifically avoid certain ingredients other than some Vitamin A acids. They are scarily harsh on my skin. The rest, I tolerate surprisingly well and not too many things make me break out. That being said, I usually try to buy good quality items and I have a natural distaste for anything really perfumey which makes me feel nauseous . Other than that, bring it on! I’ve tried the non-chemical facial care products and for me they do not hold up to chemical laden distant relatives IMO.

I try to avoid artificial fragrances and the majority of floral fragrances, no matter how they were sourced. I’m fortunate in that my skin is not especially sensitive (I’ve worn perfume with cinnamon oil directly on the skin, no problem), but my nose is pretty sensitive, so I gotta watch things there!

Other people’s perfume can make me ill, and something as seemingly harmless as the scent in my shampoo/conditioner has hung around to make me sick the next day. And by ill/sick, it often develops into a full-blown migraine, not just feeling icky.

I avoid BIsmuth Oxychloride (found in a lot of mineral makeup) and salicylic acid, both due to sensitivities/allergies. I was using sulfate & silicone free shampoos but now I’ve stopped using shampoo and conditioner entirely, I’ve been doing the No ‘Poo method for a couple of months and so far it hasn’t made my hair & scalp better, but it also hasn’t made it worse.

@jeanniesmiles If you’re looking for an alternative “no poo”, check out the line of products from Shea Moisture. They are truly all natural (a few are even certified organic) and come in a variety of formulas for different hair types. The baking soda and vinegar method was killing my chemically treated hair, and this has been my solution.

I dislike anything that can aggravate acne, whether its comedogenic or irritating. I tend to look out for isopropyl palmitate, isopropyl myristate and the like. You’d be surprised how many acne products have them. I also watch out for fragrance, colorants, cocoa butter, coconut oil and lanolin. SLS and SLES for hair and body is fine, but I usually avoid it on my face. I also try to go easy on benzoyl peroxide because it can be extremely irritating.

Although it may help for aging, I try to steer far from products with retinoids. There are just too many side effects. It makes you sensitive to the sun, discoloration, redness, broken capillaries, and is harmful for those who are pregnant.

I only avoid silicone based products when it comes to my hair because they tend to dry it out and leave it feeling like straw. Furthermore, I avoid the main ingredient in most chemical sunscreens because they break me out every time (can’t think of the actual name right now). If anyone knows of a great sunscreen for sensitive skin, please share!